Foursquare
I counted the number of potential actions you can take on the main screen of the Foursquare iPhone app (“Friends” tab). There’s 10 of them:
Now look at the total number of screens. I count at least 15 main screens, with many more sub-screens, especially in the settings part.
Now let’s look at the Instagram iPhone app, since they both have approximately the same number of users. First the total number of actions you can take on the main screen (“Feed” tab):
Wow, look at that. The same number of possible actions. That surprises me, I thought it would have been about half of Foursquare’s because the interface feels much lighter.
That’s the difference that user interface design has on emotion and memory. And that’s what turns User Interface (UI) into User Experience (UX). Amazing isn’t it?
I also count about 7 or so main screens, with a few more sub options in the settings/profile screen.
Many Options, But One Question
I think this is crazy. You think of Foursquare and you think of really two things: checking in and getting badges. But you don’t really consider all the other features that adds “weight” to the app.
Similarly with Instagram, you think of two things: taking pictures and seeing other’s pictures. But there are still other, subtle features.
My question to the UI/UX designers is this: do we need all these options?
What if you kept your app extremely minimal to only those 2 things that people “know” your app for. When does expanding this set add too much weight to the app, and when do you need to add more weight so you can “feel” it in your pocket?
So What’s the Answer?
I don’t have the answer, but I’d be curious if anyone else has captured some of these basic data points (# of actions, # of screens, and average # of actions per screen).
My premise is that great UI/UX focuses the user on 1 main action per screen in order to minimize confusion, but I bet there is an optimal # of Actions/Screen we could figure out.
My guess is somewhere around 2…your thoughts?
